Chinnamasta: The Aweful Buddhist & Hindu Tantri Goddess

BUDDlllST TRADIDON SERIES

Edited by ALEX WAYMA.l\J

Editorial Advisory Board

J.W. DEJONG KATSUMI MIMAKI CHR. LINDTNER MICHAEL HAHN LOKF.St I CHANDRA ERNST STEINKELLNER

VOLUME 22

CHINNAMASTA The A weful Buddhist and Hindu Tantric Goddess

ELISABETII ANNE BENARD

MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITED • DELHI

First Edition: Delhi 1994 © MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBUSHERS PRIVATE LlMITED All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 81-208-1065-1

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Foreword

Elisabeth Benard's work on the Hindu-Buddhist goddess Chinnarnasta is a produa of indefatigable energy, not overlooking any lead from Sanskrit and Tibetan texts or from knowledgeable informants. So to cast light on a goddess that was strangely obscure and yet implicates any Indian goddess properly to be called wondrous or arousing of awe. Although completed in the United States, her treatise does not follow a History of Religions approach with a baggage of technical terms. Besides, Dr. Benard avoids the guessing and SJXculations that characterized some previous references to this goddess. Throughout she employs a direct communication with the reader while soberly basing her conclusions oh stated sources. One welcome feature of Benard's book is the translation of much material from the Sakta Pramoda. Another fine feature is the treatment of the goddess's names, both the 108 and 1, 000 list. Her classification of the names by the rasas of Hindu drama is probably unique. This work is a solid contribution to the theories of the Hindu and Buddhist Tantras and their symbolism, in particular as related to the goddess. New York

ALEX WAYMM

Contents Foreword Preface Introduction

1. LEGENDS AND ORIGIN OF CHINNAMASTAJCHINNAMU~I;>A

v

ix xi 1

2 TO WORSHIP A DEITY, ONE MUST BECOME A DEITY

Z3

3. THE DIVINE PLAY OF CHINNAMASTA

51

4. THE QUESTION IS NOT-TO BE OR NOT TO BE

63

s.

83

VISUALIZATION OF ~HINNAMASTA/CHINNAMUI':JI;>A Conclusion

117

APPENDIX 1: The Thousand Names of the Goddess

121

APPENDIX 2: Chinnamasti temples in northern India and the Kathmandu Valley

145

Bibliography

149

Index

157

Preface

X

discussions. Also I would like to thank llemendra Chakravorty ofVaranasi for commenting on numerous sadhanas and ritual texts on Chinnamasta, as well as lending me books from his private library. This work could not have hccn done without the help of numerous people in North America, Europe, India, :'\epal, and Tibet; I thank everyone for their help. I especially thank two kalya!Jamitras, Diana Cutler and Karma Lekshe Tsomo. Also I appreciate the financial support for publication from the Center of Arts and Humanities and the Cniversity Research Council at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I thank Mary Slusser for permission to reproduce the detail of Chinnamul)Qa from the Vajravarahi painting (plate 3). My greatest gratitude is to four people who encouraged, iru;pired. and guided me through all these tumultuous years of trying to understand Chinnamasta. I thank my husband, Nima Dorjee, who applies his wonderful qualities of the wise old person and the playful child at the appropriate times. I thank His Holiness Sakya Trizin, whose vast wisdom coupled with compassion elucidates the subtlety of Tibetan Buddhism, and the late Dezhung Rimpochc, the epitome of Avalokitesvara. To one who can be as enigmatic, yet as profound as Chinnamast.a-Alex Wayman1 thank you for your creativity, uncanny perceptions, love for a good debate, exactness, kindness and passion for the arcane and the subtle. Honolulu, I Iawaii September 1991

EusABErn AI"NE BENARD

Introduction Chinnamasta/ChinnamuJ:t¢1, the uncanny Buddhist-J lindu Goddess, explodes one's limited understanding of the phenomenal world in order to reveal unconditioned reality. Both her names mean the "one with the severed-head" because she holds hero'P.'Tl head in her hand. The sadhana in the Sadhanamala describes ChinnamuQQa as one "who is of yellow colour, who holds in her left hand her own severed head which she severed with her own scimitar (karq") held in her right hand .... She is nude ... streams of blood issuing from the severed body fall into the mouth of her severed head and into the mouths of the two Yoginls on either side of her." This paradoxical goddess, overwhelms and initially frightens. She pushes one beyond dualities into the realm of the unconditioned and unconditional-a spiritual experience eagerly sought but frightening and repelling when actually experienced. One is reminded of Arjuna's vision of Kr~J:ta as God in the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna exclaims: Having seen what was never seen before, I am astonished, and my heart is shaken with fear. Show me, 0 God, that same form of Yours (as before)! Be merciful, Lord of Gods, Refuge of the World! (11 :45)

Arjuna 's ordinary reality is exploded into a million parts which destroyed the' human-constructed' limits. This experience of unconditioned reality is both marvellous and frightening; later in this book Chinnamasta's hundred and eight names and one thousand names will illustrate this paradoxical and awe-inspiring combination of the marvellous and furious. Rudolf Otto described the nature of unconditioned reality as that which makes a person stand in awe (tremendum) and simultaneously fascinates one (fascinas). Chinnamasta is an aweful goddess in this sense. She is also a paradoxical one who non-verbally indicates unconditioned reality. Practitioners apply this teaching to become liberated from cyclic existence. Unfortunately, one primarily finds Chinnamasta in sensational 'Tantric art' books which portray Tantra as exotic sexual practices or degenerate perversions. In these books explanations of Chinnamasta are brief and superficial. In reality, however, Chinnamasta indicates a transcendence of the ordinary or portrays the ordinary as extraordinary.

xii

Incrcxluction

There is a famous story about the Buddha who once taught in an enigmatic way, by holding a flower. Everyone waited patiently for the teaching to begin; only MahakaSyapa smiled. The Buddha smiled with him. The teaching was concluded. An ordinary flower evoked the experience of understanding the non-duality of ordinary/extraordinary. Chinnamasta uses her ordinary body in an extraordinary manner; she is able to function with a severed head. Chinnamasta, this 'awcful' goddess, is a Tantric goddess par excellence. A single definition ofTantra is vety difficult because of the variety of Tantric traditions existing in the world-from Kashmir Saivism and llindu Sakta, etc. in India to a variety of Buddhist Tantras in ;\1epal, Tibet, and japan. Many contemporary Hindu ascetics define Tantra. as action done with the lxJdy (tanii) for the purpose of protecting/bringing about release (era). One etymology ofTantra divides the word into two roots, tan to stretch or expand and tra to save or protect. By combining these two roots, Tantra means the increase of methods available in order to liberate oneself from cyclic existence. Ideally, these methods should be efficacious and expedient. Furthermore, in researching about Tantra, one realizes the importance of the human lx >dy as the principal instrument t( >r liberation rather than an impediment as propounded in other traditions. The body consists of numerous levels of subtlety and all Tantric traditions agree that a subtle body is composed of subtle channels (nac)is) and winds (praiJa), which circulate in the subtle channels. Furthermore they agree on the existence of three principal subtle channels, two ancillary ones which crisscross around a central channel. The subtle winds e< >ursc through the two ancillary channels but in most people the subtle wind cannot enter the central channel because the two ancillary ones form knots at the points where they crisscross it. As long as the subtle winds cannot enter the central one, one experiences the duality of ordinary reality. By yogic methods one learns to untie these 'knots' thereby opening the central channel. When the subtle winds course through the central channel, the dichotomy of conditioned and unconditioned disappears. I would argue that Chinnamasta anthropomorphically represents this central channel, her two anendants represent the two ancillary subtle channels; their feet are intertwined with Chinnamasta's thereby replicating the two ancillary channels which are intertwined with the central channel ncar the navel. Moreover, there are three bloodstreams and if correctly depicted the right bloodstream enters the right anendant's mouth, the left bloodstream the left attendant's mouth, and the central one is drunk by Chinnamasta. Since the attendants drink only from the right or left respectively, this indicates that they do not know the yogic process

Introduction

xiii

of manipulating the winds into the central channel. They experience the duality of ordinary reality. In contrast Chinnamasta, a great yoginl, drinks her own blood from the central channel, thereby experiencing the collapse of duality. Thus Chinnamasta is the Tantric goddess par excellence because she represents the essential instrument and method of achieving liberation through the Tantric-yogic process of the manipulation of the subtle winds coursing through the subtle channels. Who is sht!? Her legends are few but consistencies are apparent throughout the diverse material ranging from the Mahasiddha and Tantric tradition to the Punit).as. Among the Hindu legends, Chinnamasta is Siva's consort and in the Sakta Mahabhagvata Pural)a, she is one of the Dasa Mahavidyas (ten gre2t knowledge goddesses). In the Buddhist tradition she is connected with the Mahasiddha tradition, especially the female Mahasiddhas, Mekhala, Kanakhala, and most importantly, Lak~mlnkar~!. Many of Chinnamur:tqa sadhanas included Lak~mlnkara in their transmission lineages. In both the traditions she is an unusual emanation of a popular goddess: in llinduism Durga; and in Buddhism VajravarahiVajrayogini. Various scholars assert a different origin for her. Some scholars, such as B. Bhattacharyya, hold that she is originally a Buddhist creation and is incorporated by the llindus. Some Hindu scholars do not even consider the possibility for a non- I lindu origin, such as Shankaranarayanan who claim a Vedic antecedent. Since Chinnarnasta is a rare form of a popular goddess, few know much about her. When I visited a Hindu temple dedicated to Chinnamasta, the ritual priests, whose family have been the priests for centuries, were surprised and delighted that Chinnamasta was worshipped in Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia. Likewise, the Tibetan Buddhist practitioners wanted to know more about the Hindu Chinnamasta. Both Buddhism and Hinduism have Tantric traditions and the nascence of Tantra is obscure. Extant Buddhist texts of Chinnamur:tmage to Goddess Chinnamasta

Yajiiariipa£!1 yajiiadatrif!1 yajiiagrahaiJakaririJim I san·asattvebhyaschinnamastaf!1 namamyaham /I

mok~sadam

I pay homage to Chinnamasta who is the sacrifice; the sacrificer, and the recipient of the sacrifice. May she liberate all heings.

I Ia mage to Chinnamu!Jda

r/)o rje phag mo dbu bchad mai' I .sgrub thabs 'bri klog byed pai' dges I ma gyur sems can chams cad kyis I 'khor gsum mi dmigs rtogs par shog I I Homage to Chinnamui)Qa Vajravarahi. May she help all sentient beings to realize that the offerer, the offering, and the recipient of the offering do not ultimately exist.

Chapter 1

Legends and Origin of Chinnamasta/ Chinnamul)qa

The study of Chinnamasta' s legend'i and origin is a fine example of the fluidity of the Hindu and Buddhist Tantric traditions. In the Hindu tradition Chinnamasta is associated with the popular goddess Durga, as one of her ten manifestations known as the Dasa Mahavidyas. 1 The Sanskrit word mahavidya is a combination of the adjective maha meaning great or supreme and the noun vidya which is from the verbal root vid meaning to know, to learn, to ascertain, to experience. ( Vidis a direct cognate with the English verb 'to wit'.) By combining maha with vidya, one can translate the word mahavidya as supreme knowledge. 2 From the Hindu perspective supreme knowledge is soteriological, i.e. knowledge which reveals the way of releasing oneself from the bonds of cyclic existence or sa.rpsara. The ultimate goal of all Hindus is to achieve mok~ or liberation from the snares of 53J!lSara. Thus as a Mahavidya, Chinnamasta embodying this essential knowledge, helps beings in achieving mok~. MAHABHAGAVATAPURA~A

In chapter eight of the tenth-century Sakta Mahabhagavata PuraQa we find the earliest account of the Da5a Mahavidyas. 3 In the Mahabhaga"·aca Pur3I)a the popular Hindu God Siva extolls the glory of the Hindu Goddess Durga in her multiple manifestations to Sage Narada. 4 Chapter four through chapter twelve relate Durga's manifestation as Sati, daughter of Prajapati Dak~a. In chapter four she weds Siva and in chapter eight Siva recounts to Sage Narada Sati's insistence on attending the great sacrifice (yajii3) performed by her father. Though this legend of Dak~a's great sacrifice is well kno~n from the fourth century, in this version the Devi (the great Goddess) eclipses Siva's greatness as the more potent force. In the beginning of chapter eight Sati is portrayed as a dutiful Hindu wife

2

Chinnamasta

asking her husband's permission to attend her father's sacrifice. Since they were not invited by Oak~. Siva insisted that she should not go. However, Sati insisted that they did not need an invitation because she was Dak~a·s daughter. Since all entreaties failed, Sati decided to remind Siva that she was no ordinary woman but a powerful being with awesome aspects. Siva narrated the confrontation to Sage Narada as follows: 5 Instantly her eyes reddened with anger. Sali thought (to herseiO, "Siva had received me as his wife by my choice but today he censured and slighted me. I will show him my power." Seeing the goddess with her lips trembling with anger and her eyes blazing like the conflagration at the end of an aeon, Siva closed his eyes. Suddenly she displayed her terrible teeth in her fierce mouth and laughed. Observing this, Siva became very afraid and trembled with an averted face. With much difficulty, he reopened his eyes and beheld a terrible form. Abandoning her golden clothes, Sati's skin became discolored. She was nude with dishevelled hair, a lolling tongue and four arms; her black body was covered with sweat. Decorated with a garland of skulls, she was exceedingly fierce and had a frightful roar. On her head was a crescent moon and a crown as luminous as the rising sun. 'In this terrific form blazing with her own effulgence, she roared and stood in all her glory before Siva. Bewildered with fright, Siva forsook her and trembling with an averted face, he fled in all directions as if deluded. With a terrific laugh, Sali roared and said to him, "Don't be afraid." Hearing these sounds, terrified Siva swiftly fled in all directions. Seeing her husband overpowered by fear, Sati became merciful and having only the desire to restrain him, she appeared in a transcendent form in each of the ten directions. In whichever direction Siva fled, she was there. Seeing one terrible form, Siva ran in another direction in order to escape but he was always confronted by another one. Siva remained still and shut his eyes. When he reopened them, he saw before him the Dark One (Syama which is another name for Kali), whose smiling face was like a fully-opened lotus. Nude with large breasts, with fierce, wide eyes, dishevelled hair and four arms, she blazed like ten million suns as she stood in the southern direction. Seeing Syama, Siva overcome with fear asked, "Who are you, 0 Dark One? Where is my beloved Sati?" Sali replied, "Siva, do you not see that I am Sali who is before you. Kali, Tara, Lokesikamala, Bhuvanesvari, Chinnamasta, ~o3 .16 respectively Biardeau, M. and Malamoud, C., Le Sacrifice dans f'lndc Anucnne, Paris, Prcs.sc." l'mversitaircs de France, 1976: 151, note 5. Shankaranarayanan, S., Ten Crcac Cn.vnic Powers :70

24 25.

26.

27 28.

Sec Agrawala, Vasudeva Sarana, "Stva ka svarf1pa", Kalv:i!J:l, Siva arika ·1 1>9 This is according to the system of the five c.1kras whtch are centres of tangthle matter (bhuta5). The two higher cakra5 which are not centres of t;jn~1hle mallcr arc not counted in this system. According tv D.C. Hhattacharya in P.K (;oJc Commemoration Volume r. Ramato.sana, seventh It neal desccnJcnt of Kr~n;inancb, wa., the author of the Pranacu~initantra. (Cited from Baner)l, S C, Tantr:1 m Bcnt-J:::il, Calclltta, ~aya Prakash, 197B:7H) There ts no tn1.2 ( Jl.') who protect Buddhrsm in Tibet. 44. In TJ.ranatha 's story, it rs mentioned that the ut this name is probably an epithet for Princess Lak~milikara. 4'5. Sec "Ihomas, E.J. 771C l.ifc Hutfdha J5 l.c:gcnd anJ 1/i~cnry, !.1m don. Houtkdge and Kc:-gan Paul, 1l>7'>17'5-76. 4G. According to popular hclietan as o;"f':Jg mo lu~ _,Lwm, "olfcnng IHs hoJy to the tigress") 47. Dowman: .317 4R At this trme she bled while blood displaying compassion towards the citizens and her father (In Tantric Buddhism \Vhite liquid symboli;es compassion.) 49. ·Inc five paths in ascending order are the equipment, practice, ,·is1on. conternplauon, and adcpt L"pon anaming the path of vision, one atlains the first stage of the ten-staged Hodhisanva path. the .Joyous. 49a. Sec Bhatlacharyya. R., lrllmducuon ru Ruclclhisr F.'ic >ferici.o;m: J';l) 50 Pal, P . llindu Rd~'JiOJLIIld lcunulog\"· H_\ Bluttadla!)'\ a, i': '\ . I fi.,lOf!' o(s';ikta Hc.:lJginn: ()()_ lbnLr]l'a._l '\, lhTclorm/('n/ ()(1/mJu lconugr.IJ>In, ".L'\\ 1)t·lll1 rpt.

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